


One Kiss Was All It Took

by cum_stain_sally



Category: Andrew Siwicki - Fandom, Gandrew - Fandom, Garret Watts - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, YouTube
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-07-29 16:01:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cum_stain_sally/pseuds/cum_stain_sally
Summary: Garrett and Andrew share a kiss and neither of them have the faintest idea what to do with themselves afterwards.





	1. Chapter 1

**Garrett**

Garrett knocked on Shane’s door frantically.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Garret asked.

“Not great,” his friend mumbled, while inviting him in.

“Do you still wanna make videos then?”

“To be honest, I just don’t care anymore.”

“But you’ve felt like this before and that didn’t stop you.”

“When I look back at my old videos. It just doesn’t feel the same. It makes me cringe. They all suck!” Shane’s head sunk into his hands and he let out a long sigh.

“No! They don’t suck!” Garrett’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

“I should be a TV producer by now! But I’ve just been stuck here for ten years with nothing to show for it!”

“Don’t see it like that. You’ve made so many videos over the years that I think are great and you have millions of subscribers and they think you’re great. Ryland agrees with me, don’t you Ryland?” Garrett looked around the room for Shane’s long-suffering boyfriend.

“Don’t bother. He went out grocery shopping this morning. Not even he wants to be around me when I’m like this.”

A pause ensued between them as Garrett figured out where to steer the conversation next. “How long have you felt like this?”

“Not sure. A while, I guess. But I didn’t realise how bad it felt until last night. You know, when you called me.”

Shane looked like he was about to cry. Garrett hated seeing him this way but didn’t know the magic words that would make it better.

“The deadline for the next video release is tomorrow. I’ve filmed it but it’s not edited or anything, I just need a break! I need someone to help me out with some of my videos so I don’t feel so stretched.”

“I could edit it for you,” Shane looked up and grimaced, “then you’d have time to think about what you really want.”

Garrett wanted to ask for a reply but was cut off when Shane pulled him into a hug. Looks like he didn’t need to.

**Andrew**

Andrew texted Garrett the previous night about going to the movies and got a reply just moments later. They made a plan to meet at 17:00 that evening. Andrew was nervous. He’d dressed up properly for once. Hell. He never even put this much effort in for Gabbie! Garrett usually texted him when he was almost there but Andrew didn’t have any new messages right now and it was 17:05.

“You’re being stupid,” he told himself while pacing around the living room and checking his watch.

The door rang. Andrew practically sprinted over to be rewarded with the beaming face of Garrett Watts.

“Hey Andrew, you look good,” Garrett’s compliment made the redhead blush, it was the first one he’d received in a while. “Shall we go then?”

“Sure, just one sec,” Andrew fished around for a black and white KC snapback – his appearance was never complete without it.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call. My phone died,” his words tumbled out one after the other in a big goofy mess but he still managed to sound apologetic.

“That’s ok,” Andrew replied while grabbing his snapback and following Garrett out into the streets of LA.

The car journey was filled with comfortable silence and the only sound came from Frank Ocean’s voice over the speakers:

_I remember, how could I forget?_

_How you feel?_

_And though you were my first time_

_A new feel_

Andrew watched Garrett staring out of the window, his head slowly nodding in time with the music.

“What you thinking about?”

“Nothing much,” he murmured while failing to break eye contact with the outside. “Just about what we should see.”

“Any suggestions?”

“I was thinking ‘bout the new Alien movie.”

“Sounds good,” Andrew smiled to himself about the thought of doing something with his best friend. It’d been a while since he’d seen a movie with anyone.

“Oh wait!” Garrett sat bolt upright. “I just realised I can’t have dinner beforehand.”

“Why not?” Andrew turned around sharply to face the other boy.

“I promised a friend I would work on their YouTube video for them and post it tomorrow. How ‘bout we skip dinner and catch an earlier movie so I’m home with enough time to edit this evening?”

“Sure,” Andrew replied, keeping his voice level. “So, what’s it about?”

“I can’t remember exactly,” he trailed off for a few seconds. “Something ‘bout building a movie theatre.”

When the pair reached the venue, they waited in line for tickets and snacks. Garrett picked out a brand-new flavour of Oreos with a barely concealed yelp of delight. They took their seats with large slushies and even larger popcorn buckets, the latter of which was knocked over by Garrett almost immediately.

“Oh shit,” Garrett cried while scrambling to save as much as possible.

“Why is that something only you would do?” Andrew giggled.

Andrew found (despite the film being advertised as a thriller) that it wasn’t all that thrilling and drowsiness quickly overcame him. He found something warm and comfortable to rest his head on and fell asleep.

The next thing he knew, there was a light tapping on his head. Andrew opened his eyes to see the end credits rolling. He realised that the warm comfy object was in fact Garrett’s shoulder and he sharply recoiled away.

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” Garrett tried to reassure him when he began to anxiously mumble an apology. The tall boy’s characteristically warm smile put Andrew at ease.

“How about we go, get some food? I’m starving!”

“Sounds cool. I’m pretty hungry too,” Garrett replied, completely forgetting about the video he was supposed to edit.

They went downtown for Mexican food but ended up ordering beer while they were at it. Every time Garrett looked like he wanted to leave, Andrew bought him another round. This was problematic for a couple of reasons: firstly, his friend was now very drunk and secondly, that meant he was holding onto Andrew for support. Was that second issue really important? He liked the warmth radiating off of his best friend. It made him feel secure.

“You k-know something Andrew?” Garrett gripped his buddy even tighter, “right now, there’s no one I’d rather spend my time with.”

“Thanks man,” Andrew glowed at the compliment. “Are you sure you haven’t had too much to drink?” He had a degree of concern in his voice that wasn’t hard to decipher – even for Garrett who was drunk as fuck.

“I’m fine, d-don’t worry. Anyway, you’re driving us home so… we good.” He explained himself to Andrew in front of him while swaying rather unsteadily. He fell forwards. Andrew saved him from the ground and for a moment, Garrett was in his arms. What happened next was entirely unexpected. Garrett leaned forward and kissed his best friend on the lips.

When Garrett pulled away, Andrew’s jaw was agape. He almost dropped him on the floor. His tipsy mind struggled to process what had just happened. Garrett brought him back to reality by bursting into giggles as if he’d just done the most hilarious thing ever.

“I think we’re both too drunk to drive home so I’ll call an Uber,” Andrew stuttered while helping him to his feet.

“Sure. W-Whatever,” Garrett smiled in a contented way only drunk people could pull off before promptly vomiting all over Andrew’s shoes. In any other situation he would have been at least marginally annoyed about that but all he could think of was the kiss they’d just shared and what it meant.


	2. Chapter 2

**Garrett**

When Garrett woke up the next morning, he had an axe buried in his forehead. But after a moment realised it was just a hangover. One that was bound to be persistent. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to learn he’d slept in his own bed. Didn’t he always spend the night at Andrew’s place after these wild sessions? He sat bolt upright, instantly regretting the action when he felt the jolt of pain slice through his temple. One thing stood out to him about last night. The kiss. The kiss was just concrete enough for him to know it had happened but still too hazy to make out any details. What had drunk Garrett done?!? He saw a blurry neon post-it note stuck to the rim of his bedside lamp and fumbled around on the dresser looking for his familiar pair of Harry Potter style glasses but those clumsy paws of his knocked them on the floor. When he got out of bed to pick them up, he heard a sickening crack.

“Oh shit,” Garrett cringed at his own incoordination.

He stumbled into the living room where he knew there was a spare pair of glasses waiting for him.

“He fucked me with a TOOTHBRUSH!” Garrett heard a familiar giggle and whipped round to see Andrew sitting at the desk and editing a video. He was sitting in Garrett’s very own spinney chair of all places!

“Oh, hey. You’re up now,” he beamed cheerfully while swivelling round to look at the taller boy.

“Why are you on my computer?”

“Well, I remember how last night you said you needed to edit a video and the deadline was today.”

“Oh fuck!” Garrett cursed as he slapped his forehead – an action that carried instant regret. “So that explains the post-it note.”

“You weren’t sober enough to do anything when we got back, so I put you to bed and pulled an all-nighter editing this goddamn video for you.”

After grabbing his glasses, Garrett approached the monitor and saw the smirking face of Tana Mongeau plastered across it. He knitted his brows together, reaching for an appropriate response but all he could think of was where did Tana find such freaky guys? Actually no. He had to ask Andrew about the kiss. It was important.

“Wait,” Garrett paused. “Do you regret anything about last night?” It was at this point he expected Andrew to flip over the table and storm out. But that wasn’t Andrew’s way.

“Regret what?” he looked at his friend innocently.

“You know,” Garrett trailed off, unaware of how to continue. “What we did together last night?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well just,” he buckled. “Forget it. I didn’t mean anything. Just, I drank so much that my hangover is gonna last the rest of the day.”

Garrett had a little crush, well, it was only little in comparison to the Titanic - or the moon. Garrett was head over heels in love with Andrew and his best friend couldn’t seem to tell. His sober self would never dare to make a move but drunk Garrett didn’t play by the same rules. How stupid could he have been? And Andrew didn’t even care enough to remember. But if he was blissfully unaware then their friendship wouldn’t change. But Garrett remembered. He’d always remember. He’d remember until the day he’d die and never tell anyone. Should Andrew know about it? No. He didn’t want to ruin what they had. But neither of them pulled away if memory served. Maybe Andrew had feelings for him. No! That was an equally ridiculous notion. How could a cute boy like him ever have feelings for someone big and gross like Garrett?

His internal monologue was interrupted by Andrew. “Nice underwear,” Garrett looked down and realised he was dressed in a pair of white boxer shorts with pink lipstick kisses on them - and nothing else.

“Did you undress me last night?” Garrett asked, feeling turned on and weirded out in equal measure.

“No, you did it mostly by yourself. Although, I did have to help you with your belt buckle and the buttons on your jeans because you were too drunk to do that.”

Garrett felt dirty satisfaction that Andrew had unbuckled his jeans for him - maybe he’d slipped them down as well. NO!!! Bad Garrett! He’s sitting right there!

Garrett’s impure thoughts were interrupted. “I’ve almost finished editing it, do you wanna see what I’ve done?” Andrew shot him a look reminiscent of a toddler waiting to show his mother their latest drawings. Even in his dazed and hungover state, his best friend knew he couldn’t refuse.

The video itself was a standard Shane Dawson concept. Something fun and silly, designed to entertain the audience for a short period of time. In this case he’d made a tiny movie theatre for his cat. Although Garrett had been on edge before, the video made him smile and he even laughed. Andrew’s editing had turned a simple video into something more.

“So… what do you think?” Andrew asked expectantly.

“I liked it,” Garrett replied.

“Do you think Shane will like it?”

“I think Shane will love it. I didn’t realise you were such a good editor.”

“Well I got into it as a hobby a few months back.”

“And you’re clearly a natural,” Garrett smiled affectionately before giving his friend a pat on the back. “You finish up what you’re doing and I’ll be outside… vomiting my guts up.”

When Andrew left, Garrett felt terrible. How could he do something like this? How could he take advantage of his friend while drunk? How could he lie to him about it afterwards? He banged his head against the wall and winced in pain.

All that was left to do was send the video to Shane and see what he thought. A reply came quicker than expected in the form of a phone call.

“Hey Garrett.”

“Oh, hey Shane.”

“How you doing?”

“Better than before.”

“Good to know,” Garret noted the perkier tone in Shane’s voice today.

“I saw the video.”

“What did you think?”

“I really enjoyed it. You did a great job editing.”

A part of Garrett wanted to take credit and feel Shane’s admiration, but an even bigger part of him was all too aware of the last lie he told. He wasn’t in the mood for any more. “Well thanks, but I wasn’t the one who did the work. My good friend Andrew Siwicki edited it for me.”

“Oh, ok. Well tell him he did a great job,” Shane paused for a moment. “You know what? Could you give me his contact details? I’d like to know if he’d be down to edit more in the future.”

He ended up giving away Andrew’s phone number.

“Thanks for that Garrett, see you soon.”

“See ya.”

Shane hung up and left Garrett standing there in his underwear, dumbfounded by the events of the last few hours.


	3. Chapter 3

**Andrew**

When Andrew left Garrett’s house, he was wracked with the recollections of last night that he most certainly did remember. After the incident he felt it was safer to go back to Garrett’s place instead of his. It would be harder for him to try anything there. But the kiss didn’t mean anything, did it? Andrew was straight and had a steady girlfriend.

His phone buzzed with a text and he groaned when he saw who it was.

_Gabbie: Hey babe, are you still down for this evening? xx_

Andrew finally remembered how tonight was supposed to be date night for him and Gabbie. He didn’t feel like facing her after the Garrett situation. But if he ignored her, he’d be home alone with a bottle of whiskey and his thoughts which was never a good combination.

_Andrew: Yeah, I’ll be over in 15 minutes._

She greeted Andrew with open arms but he wasn’t in a cuddly mood and didn’t hug her back. She instantly noticed.

“What’s wrong babe?” she tilted her head to the side.

“Nothing, it’s all fine, everything’s fine, why would anything be wrong?” He was overcompensating and he just had to hope she would buy it.

Thankfully she did and the conversation moved on to what they’d been up to since they’d last spoke. Andrew wasn’t really listening but just nodded at the right moments. Instead, he thought about all the possible reactions she’d have if she ever found out about his forbidden kiss.

“What are you so happy about?” Gabbie asked him quizzically.

“Oh, nothing. Just things,” he replied with a shrug. It was at this point that Andrew realised he was smiling inanely. 

She didn’t respond to his vague statement but instead followed it up with a more specific proposition, “I was thinking for our date we could get dinner and catch a movie. Maybe go see that new sci-fi film.”

“Which one?”

“The new Alien one, what’s it called? Alien Covenant. That’s it.”

“Actually Gabbie, I saw that yesterday.”

“Oh ok, we could go see another movie then.”

“I’m not in the mood to go out tonight.” In his defence he hadn’t slept in over 24 hours and wouldn’t have the necessary energy to make it through both a dinner and a movie with this girl. He much preferred the idea of a quiet night in with someone.

“Sure,” she sounded taken aback but her usual perky voice returned with the next idea: “we can stay in then. Watch some Netflix,” she winked at him which made Andrew cringe. “Andrew!” she playfully whacked his arm, “don’t look so annoyed at the thought of spending time with me.”

He smiled apologetically.

Gabbie chose the old IT movie as an acceptable alternative to her original plan. When the film started, the living room became deadly quiet, with only the sound of Gabbie loudly chewing popcorn breaking the silence. It didn’t last. With every jump scare she squealed louder and lurched closer to him. Andrew tried his best to move away but when you start at the edge of the couch there isn’t very much space to escape the encroaching Gabby monster. At one point, Andrew looked down to see her hand resting on his thigh.

It wasn’t until the closing credits did either of them speak to each other again. “Thank you for making me less scared Andrew,” she placed a lingering kiss on his cheek. And another one. But she didn’t stop there. Her kisses slowly trailed down his neck and she squeezed his thigh. It was only then that Andrew’s sleep deprived brain realised where this was headed. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not now. Not with the taste of Garrett’s lips still so fresh in his mind.

When she began to give him a hickey Andrew’s usually calm voice carried an unexpected edge. “No.”

She abruptly broke off what she was doing. “Huh?” she looked at him with big eyes, “don’t you want to…”

“Not now,” Andrew interrupted while looking away. “It’s not your fault. It’s just, it’s just I’m not in the mood,” he added to try and make her feel better but it was too late to save the atmosphere.

“Ok,” she responded. “Do you wanna stay the night or…”

“I think I’ll just go, if that’s ok.”

“Yeah sure,” she stared at the floor, crestfallen.

Andrew slammed the door behind him. He knew he was being a shit boyfriend by leaving so suddenly without any explanation but he needed time to process all the emotions that were rushing through his head. Spending the night with Gabbie wouldn’t do that for him. He checked his phone for notifications and saw a text from an unknown number:

_Hey Andrew, it’s Shane Dawson here. I saw the video you edited for me and was blown away. I was wondering if you’d be willing to work with me in the future and help create more amazing videos. Looking forward to hearing from you – S._

He wasn’t expecting a text from Shane Dawson and was thrilled that someone liked his work so much that they’d ask for more. This solitary text made up for the entire night he’d wasted with Gabbie. He responded immediately:

_Andrew: Thanks Shane, I’m glad you like the video so much. I’d love to work with you in the future._

Andrew was elated and walked home with a swing in his step - until he realised who had given Shane his contact details in the first place. Without Garrett none of this would have happened. He made a mental note to thank him at the next opportunity. When he got back home, drowsiness quickly overcame him and he fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Andrew (2 Years Previously)**

Andrew and Ricky sat on a park bench together. They must be the only people in the entire city of Chicago to indiscriminately wear black sweatpants and hoodies every day of the year. It was in the dead of Summer and weird looks were sent their way from passers-by in floral patterned t-shirts and neon coloured flip flops. Both of them were content to sit on a park bench and soak up the sunlight.

“You know what?”

“What?” Andrew looked round at Ricky for an answer to this incredibly vague statement.

“I haven’t felt this good in ages!”

“Oh cool.”

“I wanna go buy something.”

“Like what? You have zero money, what can you even afford?” Andrew giggled.

“You know you’re laugh is fucking annoying sometimes,” Ricky snarled. Andrew stopped giggling.

“Well what do you wanna buy?”

“I dunno. I hadn’t about that bit yet,” he trailed off while staring at a pretty girl’s ass as she walked by, “I’d buy her if she were for sale.”

Both of them sat in silence while waiting for an idea.

“I know,” Ricky piped up. “I’m gonna get myself a hat.”

“Sure.”

“Do you wanna come with?”

“Yeah sure!” Andrew responded a little too eagerly.

“Well, let’s go then.”

They both got up from their bench and found the nearest clothes shop. Inside there were beanies and bearskins, sombreros and songkoks, fedoras and fezzes, hard hats and hardee hats. To Andrew it looked like every kind he’d ever seen (and some he hadn’t) were on display. Ricky couldn’t decide. He was set on this cute red beanie but a snapback caught his attention while waiting in line to pay. It was black and white with the letters KC written on it.

“Oh shit. It’s two for one,” he stared at it like one would stare at a diamond and pulled it off the rack. He closely examined it for a few seconds, before taking another and tossing it to Andrew. After Ricky paid, they went back into the sunlight to enjoy their lazy day off.

**Garrett (2 Years Previously)**

Garrett was hiding from the Summer heat under an umbrella outside a street café. He’d grown up in Nashville and lived in LA but his body just wasn’t built for the blistering heat. To be honest, his clothes didn’t help. Today Garrett was wearing his slightly torn red jumper and thick blue jeans. This made him sweat unreasonable amounts. Even though he didn’t care for the Midwestern temperature extremes, his favourite city in the world was still Chicago because (even if Garrett didn’t want to admit it) sometimes he craved simplicity. He travelled long distances to find it in the regimented main streets of the official city where the bright neon lights illuminated the night sky and drowned out everything else. However, he equally enjoyed the more rundown side streets of the unofficial city which contained fainter flickering illumination which advertised various services of ill repute. It was his penchant for hanging out in seedy backstreets that led to Garrett’s first mugging in Paris. One moment he was a naive 19-year-old innocently minding his own business and the next he had a knife to his throat. The whole experience still played on his mind regularly which is why he made sure to always leave his valuables in the hotel room – or his boxers. Quite honestly, both places had proved their effectiveness over the years.

In all his introspection Garrett wasn’t paying attention to the world around him. Another pastime on these kinds of holidays was people watching. He would endlessly gaze at others wandering in front of him and imagine crazy explanations as to where they were going and why. Today he had the benefit of wearing sunglasses so other people couldn’t see where his eyes were focussed. His view consisted of a pedestrianised road lined with boutique shops and fast food chains, there were some steps leading to an unknown location further along. He focussed on a middle-aged woman with a blond bob, wire-rimmed glasses, a white shirt, beige cardigan, black trousers and neon pink-green trainers. Like all sane people, Garrett leapt to the conclusion that she was a spy who was getting ready to meet up with someone else and discuss spy things. The shoes would obviously be how the other person would recognise her in the crowds.

Garrett’s eyes moved onto his next targets; two boys dressed head to toe in black. One of the boys had dark hair while the other was ginger, but this was partially concealed by their snapbacks. Garrett stared. The redhead obviously caught him staring and the pair made eye contact for a few moments. Garrett was starstruck by how handsome this boy was. That messy red hair was complimented by dark brown eyes, a button nose and 5 o’clock shadow: all features of male beauty that should be appreciated! The eye contact went on, Garrett smiled at him and the other boy began to smile back. Then this gorgeous mystery man fell down the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

**Andrew**

A number of weeks passed by and Andrew had been sent more videos to edit. _‘TAYLOR SWIFT THEORIES & CELEBRITY SECRETS’_ and _‘DON’T CALL THESE NUMBERS!’_ were among the highlights. Shane was so impressed with the quality that he often uploaded them without making any changes. Being in front of a computer screen for six hours a day left Andrew with little time left for the people in his life. His relationship with Gabbie had gone south and he couldn’t figure out why. He’d done everything that boyfriends were supposed to do for girlfriends like buy flowers on their anniversary, hold the door open in public places, have romantic candle-lit dinners etc. (the list kept on getting longer and Andrew was sick of it!) Love and relationships were hard and even in his mid-twenties, he still hadn’t fully grasped it. He’d also been having some problems with Garrett as well: they hadn’t seen each other since their drunken smooch but Andrew stilled hoped nothing had changed. Today would be the first time he’d be his best friend since the incident. The redhead was notoriously terrible with directions so he’d asked Garrett to drive him over to a place that Shane nicknamed ‘The Office’ where they would discuss the terms of a future editing contract. The Office wasn’t as grand or important as it sounded - just a small dingy apartment with an empty fridge, much to Garrett’s chagrin.

“I can’t believe you drank all the Pepsi!” Garrett whined while slamming the door.

“Don’t worry Ok? I’ll go out and buy another pack,” Shane replied in a voice, deeper and less vibrant than his videos had led Andrew to believe.

The three of them assembled around a large conference table. The only thing on it was a fruit bowl containing grapes that Garrett eyed hungrily.

“So, I currently post four videos from Monday to Thursday. On top of that, I sometimes get other YouTubers I like to post something extra on a Friday, so they can gain exposure and build their fanbases. For this to work, you need to tell me your own weekly schedule so we can work out a timetable of who edits what and when. How does that sound?” Shane sat in his larger, superior office chair with his fingers clasped together like a super villain, calmly awaiting Andrew’s response.

“Yeah, that sounds cool,” he replied after a few moments, “do you have any videos that need to be edited right now because I’m free over the next few days?” More like the next few weeks, Andrew thought to himself. “I did film something last night, it’s just raw footage at the moment and it needs to be up on Monday.”

“I can edit that for you,” Andrew said, a little too fast.

“Alright, don’t be too overenthusiastic or I might skip out on this editing nonsense altogether,” Shane teased.

“No, I like doing it. It’s a passion of mine,” Andrew blushed at his own eagerness.

“Cool. What other things do you like?”

“Basketball for one. I wanted to be a talent scout when I was younger but didn’t make the cut.”

Shane brought Garrett back into the conversation.

“Didn’t you tell me you wanted to be an octopus as a kid but were worried that you wouldn’t get into the school for octopi or something?”

“I kinda went back and forth between octopus and wizard,” that admission forced the tall boy to shrink back a little.

“You never told me that,” Andrew shot his friend a questioning glance.

“Shaaane! Don’t expose me!” Garrett gasped while turning as red as the grapes on the table.

“Sorry about that one. We tried to have him put down but the vet said it would cost too much,” Shane sneered sarcastically.

“I also liked to film videos when I was younger,” Andrew continued.

“You film videos as well as edit them?” Shane moved forward in his chair, clearly interested in the possibilities, “is there anything this man can’t do?”

“Well I’m not a professional or anything but I know how to work a camera well enough.”

“That’s brilliant! Right now, I’m mostly tied down to making videos in my kitchen but with someone else filming I’d be able to move around the house without having to check if I’m still in frame every two seconds.”

While Shane gushed about the necessities of hiring a cameraman, Garrett’s hands inched ever closer to the fruit bowl in the centre of the table. “I know what you’re doing.” Shane spied those sneaky fingers.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m not doing anything,” Garrett tried to look innocent but the smirk forming across his face gave him away.

“Just take some if you’re hungry, you’ll never catch me eating one of those things.” With the invitation, he took a fistful of grapes and put them on his lap. Every now and then he snuck one into his mouth.

“Do you ever edit any of Garrett’s videos?” Shane asked Andrew.

“No, I never have. Garrett likes to do that himself.”

“Shame. I think some of Garrett’s videos could benefit from a little extra work,” Shane made sure to emphasise those last three words.

“My videos are fine!” His defence was hard to decipher through a mouthful of grapes.

They spent at least an hour discussing various aspects of YouTube and their personal lives. Andrew was enjoying Garrett’s company as usual while warming up to Shane much quicker than expected. Getting out of the house was good because it gave him his first face to face interaction all week. Andrew’s phone buzzed. He whipped it out casually to see a grave text from Gabbie.

_Gabbie: I think we need to have a serious talk about the future of our relationship._

The first message he’d got from her in a few days and she didn’t sound pleased to see him one bit; no greeting, no kisses. He stared down at his phone with furrowed brows.

“Who you talking to?” Shane peered over, trying to look at his messages.

“No one important,” Andrew lied while cramming the phone back in his pocket. He was too happy chatting with his friends to let her bother him right now.

**Garrett **

The journey home from ‘The Office’ was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Over the last several weeks Garrett had time to realise the implications of his actions. He tried to move on as if nothing was amiss but, how could he? His mind fizzled with electricity every time he so much as saw the other boy. If only he didn’t have such a primitive gay goblin brain! A part of him wanted to let Andrew know everything and not have to fear the consequences but last time that didn’t work out so well. He thought about avoiding him as a way to heal on his own but dismissed the idea as selfish. Despite putting on his usual bubbly exterior today, Garrett had a horrible anxiety that grew with each passing moment of silence. He was worried that Andrew would use this time to discuss their little moment. While Shane had acted as an unwitting shield earlier, he wasn’t here to offer any protection now. Andrew might pounce while he was stuck inside this moving vehicle. Garrett usually brought a CD with him to listen to during car journeys but for some reason, there weren’t any littering the footwells or nestled away in the glove compartment like there usually were. Fuck. He’d cleaned out his car last week. He was sick of being trapped inside his own head so he turned the radio on.

It was the traffic report: “… Is still blocked due to a crash involving a caravan and a roadster.” Garrett changed radio stations.

Andrew shot him a questioning look. “Why did you do that? That could have been something we needed to avoid.”

“You’re always so practical Andrew,” Garrett shook his head, “you know I only ever put the radio on to listen to music.” They found a station that played jazz and let it do its thing. Eventually the distinctive voice of Amy Winehouse radiated through the speakers.

_They try to make me go to Rehab but I said no, no, no! _

Garrett looked over at his friend, “do you listen to much Amy Winehouse Andrew?” Desperate to prevent their silence leading to any unsafe conversation topics.

“Not really. I don’t know much about her to be honest.”

“Much of the _Back to Black_ album was written about her ex-husband who was serving time in prison. They loved each other desperately but couldn’t be in a relationship because all they ever did was leave a fiery path of destruction in their wake. After their divorce she was devastated and spiralled down into the drink and drugs big time but could argue it was the loneliness that killed her in the end.” After Garrett’s mini speech there was a thoughtful silence that hung over the car.

_I don’t ever wanna drink again _

_I just need a friend _

_I’m not gonna spend 10 weeks _

_Have everyone think I’m on the mend _

“She sure sounds like a troubled woman,” Andrew remarked after the track had ended.

Garrett lamented Amy and her struggle with loving the wrong person. He would do anything not to slip down that sad same rabbit hole. He wanted things to go back to the way they were before but didn’t know if they ever could.


	6. Chapter 6

**Andrew **

Andrew was woken up the next morning by his fucking alarm. With a pair of eyes still jammed shut, an arm ventured out from under the covers to blindly swat at the screaming object. His hard work was rewarded when he knocked it onto the floor and it broke. At least it stopped ringing though. It was a while after that before he finally worked up the courage to leave the warm confines of his bed where he found his problems to be far worse than a battered alarm clock. He’d received another text from Gabby:

_Gabbie: So, I guess it’s over then. _

Andrew blinked. He read it a second time. It had been eighteen hours since the crucial message had been sent. This follow up text was accompanied by a voicemail the was received at 02:38 that morning.

“Hey Andrew, I know you read the text I sent you yesterday but you didn’t reply so I guess that means it’s over then. I just want you to know that I’m sorry. At one point it was really working and I had feelings for you but over these last few weeks it feels, it feels like a wedge has been driven between us. I know that you’re a good person and I don’t want you to think that this was your fault. It wasn’t,” her voice cracked. “This might come as a shock to you… hell, maybe it’s what you were expecting, I don’t know what to think anymore. All I want you to know is that I can’t go on like this with you,” her rambling speech was broken up by heavy sobbing. “Don’t know what else to say now apart from goodbye and I hope you find someone to satisfy you in all the ways I never could,” the call ended with a beep which left Andrew standing there in silence.

He was shocked. Well, not really. But he was shocked that she ended everything so abruptly. He looked back at their last few texts and there weren’t any signs that it would all come crashing down so quickly. It just didn’t make any sense. He wanted to text her back, tell her he was sorry, tell her he would be better. He texted Garrett instead.

_Andrew: Hey. Gabbie just broke up with me and I don’t wanna be alone rn. Can I come around to yours? _

He put his phone down and made himself a warm coffee. Sitting back down on the couch, mug in hand, he read Garrett’s response.

_Garrett: We can watch Netflix together. _

Shit. Garrett knew him so well. He felt guilty for ignoring Gabbie but decided to skip his main course and move onto the dessert that was spending time with his best friend.

When he got there, Andrew greeted his best friend with a hug.

“How you doing?” Garrett asked as he sort of returned the physical affection.

“I’m actually doing a lot better, what about you?” Andrew felt the warmth radiating from his body.

“I’m good. Do you wanna come in or just keep hugging me?” Garrett chuckled.

Their hug had continued for an increasingly long time - well over the acceptable period for contact between friends. After they withdrew, he was welcomed inside. The first thing Andrew noticed was that the TV screen had a bunch of women in Little Red Riding Hood costumes stoning a guy to death.

“A bit morbid, don’t you think?” Garrett shot Andrew a questionable look.

“Well it’s this show called The Handmaid’s Tale and it’s actually really interesting. It’s set in this dystopian fantasy where women have lost all their rights and the plot is really engaging and…” Garrett was cut off by Andrew wrestling the remote from his hands.

“Sounds horrific.”

“Suits me perfectly then.”

“Let’s watch something with a little less death in it,” Andrew started flicking through the different shows before settling on one he hadn’t seen before that looked cool.

“Ah, Westworld!” Garrett exclaimed while looking over his shoulder, “my friend loves that show. I watched a bit with her, thought it looked complicated as damn!”

“Complicated as damn?” Andrew turned round to look at the taller boy with precisely one eyebrow raised.

“It’s a new phrase I’ve thought of adopting… so I don’t swear as much,” Garrett shrugged.

“You do you,” Andrew responded to the lovable goof and his quirks absentmindedly while pressing the play button to this mysterious new show.

“What’s it even about?”

“I think it’s got something to do with robots, or maybe cowboys. I can’t remember the details.”

The show turned out to be both! Robot cowboys in an Old Western theme park living alongside human tourists who could do whatever they liked to them without fear of consequences. It was an intriguing concept and Andrew’s attention was rapt by the sweet love story of Dolores and Teddy. They seemed so happy together – when they weren’t being brutally murdered. The first episode flew by and before they knew it, the credits were rolling. Andrew spoke for the first time since the show began;

“I liked that. It was super fun to watch the robots interact in Wild West speak.”

Garrett looked over at his friend and sighed. “Wild West speak? What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know, just like… I guess I just like the way they speak.”

“You mean the script’s well written?”

“That.” Andrew’s reply elicited some head shaking from his best friend. “What?” his reply was disgruntled, “just because I’m not good at saying stuff like you are! What did you think of the show then?”

Garrett stared at his friend and his reply was monotone, “Doesn’t look like anything to me.” Andrew giggled at that (it was a reference to the show.) “No, I actually liked it. It was deep.” He cocked his head. “What are your core drives?”

“Huh?” Andrew glanced back at his friend quizzically.

“You know how the robots have core drives that influence their decisions? What do you think defines yours?”

“I dunno really,” Andrew pondered, “I guess I just want to be surrounded by people that make me happy. Although I’m still looking for that one person to settle down with and be all domestic with.”

“Why was Gabbie not that person?” Garrett asked curiously. Fucking Gabbie! Andrew had been enjoying himself so much that he’d forgotten she even existed.

“I guess we just weren’t right for each other. She’s nice but I’m looking for somebody who’s more…” Andrew couldn’t think of a word to describe what he meant, “more… someone who will love me unconditionally, even with all my flaws.”

Garrett nodded and Andrew thought he saw a faint smile move across his lips.

“What about you, what do you want most of all in life?” Garrett sat there, pensive for a moment.

“I just want to be myself whenever possible. If I behave naturally then I know I can’t go wrong.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a phone call for Garrett who went over to the kitchen counter.

“Yeah?” Garrett asked the caller on the other end. “Ah, that’s awful,” Andrew tried to listen in but couldn’t hear what the other person was saying. “Are you sure you can’t make it?” he saw Garrett sigh in frustration. “Ok, well thanks for telling me. Bye.”

He walked back over to the couch and Andrew pretended like he hadn’t just been eavesdropping. “What happened?”

Garrett turned to him, “it’s my friend who’s in town for the first time in like two years. I managed to book us a reservation at a really nice Chinese place a few blocks down that’s impossible to get a reservation at because it’s so popular, but now she can’t come because her mom died and her family are in town coffin shopping with her. The whole situation’s kinda bad because now I have no one…”

“I can come,” Andrew blurted out.

“Really? Can you?” Garrett’s brows furrowed slightly, “it’s 7 O’clock tonight. I know that’s short notice but…”

“Yeah I can make it. I like Chinese food.”

“Then it’s a date.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Andrew **

Andrew rushed back home to get dressed for the evening. He wanted to look nice for Garrett. Why though? It obviously wasn’t a date. Was it? No. Don’t be silly. Even if he’d been angling for a response from his parting comment, Andrew was straight and Garrett knew that. This is just a hang-out session between friends with some fancy clothes and restaurant dining thrown in for good measure. While Andrew was no stranger to desiring human contact and falling in love, it had always been with women. These thoughts in his head were simply loneliness and vulnerability after his breakup, rather than…

Andrew’s frantic pacing was brought to a halt when he tripped over the laundry basket and fell in a heap on the floor. He stared at his closet and remembered the purpose of his coming home. He didn’t have many nice things to wear but there was an old mustard yellow leavers t-shirt he got from high school. The only problem was it had short sleeves and hated showcasing his arms - especially to those closest to him. Andrew fished around at the back of his closet to see what else he could drag up from his past. He pulled out a green shirt and a matching sparkly bow tie (he didn’t know even know how he came into possession of such a thing in all his years of living but there it was.) He’d never worn a bow tie before. Fuck it. Garrett would definitely compliment him on a good old bow tie.

**Garrett **

Garrett was freaking out. He called it a date! He said they were going on a date… together. Andrew left pretty quickly after that. What if he didn’t come back this afternoon? What if he never came back? When the irrational half of Garrett’s brain spiralled out of control it was the job of his rational half to manage that hysteria. He reasoned that Andrew probably changed into new clothes while he was away. He wished he’d never mentioned the damn dinner now but he was caught off guard when Andrew suggested it before he could even finish his sentence. Garrett felt like he had no choice but to accept. Usually, there would be no objection from him when it came to spending time with his best friend but he still felt paralysed with fear about the kiss they shared and how it could demolish what they had. Not only would he lose a close friend but someone he was in love with which would make that loss doubly painful. Maybe it was best in the long run for them to see each other less. 4

When Andrew did turn up, he had in fact changed into something different that made him look great as always. They began to walk down to the restaurant.

Andrew struck up a conversation, “do you like my bow tie?” he flashed it in Garrett’s direction and it sparkled in the light.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Garrett’s reply sounded like it was forced. He felt too nervous to be himself right now.

“Thanks,” Andrew paused while staring at the ground. “I didn’t realise I had one.”

“I wonder how it got there,” Garrett looked away and smiled to himself for a moment.

“So, what did you get up to over the last few hours then?” Andrew kept the conversation alive in an effort to alleviate the tension.

“Well,” Garrett replied awkwardly, scratching his neck, “I went to the opticians to get some new prescription glasses. You know, to replace the ones I broke.”

“You broke those over a month ago.”

“Yeah but you know me! King of the procrastinators!” He shrugged.

“I can’t believe you met Shane on a dating app!” Andrew stubbornly persisted with his talking.

“I know right.” Garrett’s reply was monotone.

“But he seems very happy to be dating Ryland now,” Andrew continued, “isn’t he?”

Garrett grunted in response. This boy really couldn’t take a hint!

The conversation dried up for the rest of their walk and dinner was largely silent as well. It wasn’t until the bill arrived and they were offered fortune cookies did Garrett finally perk up again.

“Do you wanna open yours first or should I?” He asked Andrew.

“You go first, it’s the most you’ve said all evening.”

Garrett bit through to get to the paper in the middle. He read it. You’ll find the love of your life, dressed in yellow.

“What does it say?”

“You’ll find the love of your life dressed in yellow.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, yeah.” Garrett shoved the note into his pocket.

“Ok, um,” Andrew read his own message aloud, “you will meet some ghosts in your future journeys.”

“Real spooky.” Without missing a beat, Garrett’s eyes were scanning the restaurant for the exits, “let’s leave, I wanna go to the bar and get drunk.”

Several shots of whiskey later and they were both properly hammered. They stumbled into the back of an Uber and headed for Andrew’s place. All this alcohol had made Garrett very woozy and he fell asleep before they even got home.

**Andrew **

Andrew didn’t want to wake his best friend. After paying the driver, he lifted Garrett out of the back seat and carried all six feet and four inches of him inside with little protest. The sleeping giant was plonked down on the couch but wouldn’t fit because of his stick insect limbs. Andrew felt bad leaving him like that and managed (somehow) to pick him up again and make it all the way to his bedroom. He laid Garrett on top of the king-sized mattress and climbed in next to him on the other side. The following morning, Garrett left quickly.

“Are you sure you can’t stay for breakfast? I’m cooking eggs,” Andrew asked while searching for a spatula in the cavernous depths of his kitchen cupboard.

“No sorry,” Garrett replied while shoving on his shoes, “I need to go, um, edit a video.”

Andrew was about to add something about his scrambled eggs being the best ones you could find on the West Coast but Garret had already grabbed his backpack and slammed the door behind him. Andrew ate breakfast alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Andrew **

Several weeks passed before the pair would meet again. On that night, the two roommates were sitting on the couch together. Ricky was at ease, his legs up on the coffee table and his hand lazily brandishing the TV remote. Andrew sat hunched over himself with just a warm cup of coffee. He’d planned to stop by at the gym but cancelled at the last moment when he had far less motivation than he realised. His thoughts wandered to a certain best friend’s absence - they often had recently. He replayed that last morning they spent together when Garrett ran away from him as if he was contaminated. What had he done wrong?

“When was the last time you heard from Garrett?” He asked Ricky.

“He called me earlier,” his roommate replied, failing to break contact with the television screen, “why?”

“Dunno… just we haven’t spoken in a while.”

“Well he talks to me.”

Andrew stared at the floor and willed the conversation out of existence.

“You know something? You should just get a new hoe. That’ll cheer you up,” Ricky sneered. Andrew rolled his eyes.

Their peaceful existence was interrupted by a knock on the door. “It’s open!” They called out in unison.

Garrett plodded in dressed as Pennywise. The costume was lovingly crafted with filthy robes, garish yellow contact-lenses and blood dripping all the way down his neck. He looked every part the creepy sadistic clown that he was trying to emulate. “Can one of you film me around Hollywood, looking like this and trying to find a boyfriend?” He asked casually.

Andrew glanced at Ricky who looked unwilling to even move from his spot on the couch, let alone follow Garrett on the adventure he was proposing. “Alright,” Andrew murmured.

“Also, can you wear this yellow Georgie raincoat?” Garrett held out the offering.

“Oh my god!” Andrew rolled his eyes and giggled. He put down the mug of coffee in order to better examine this article of clothing.

“Andrew, Come on!” Garrett whined at his friend’s hesitation.

“No. No, I’ll do it. It’s just… I underestimated you,” he smiled to himself at just how extra his friend could be sometimes.

“Why would you underestimate me?” The glint in Garrett’s eyes were tinged with the mania that could only come from dressing up as your favourite childhood monster. “I’ll just grab some cookies from the kitchen.”

Andrew put on the raincoat and rushed to join him but the instinctive movement of checking his pockets made him realise his key wasn’t there. Fuck it. He’d just say he didn’t bring it and sleep round at Garrett’s place instead.

“Hey!” Ricky yelled from the couch. Andrew stuck his head round the door again, “don’t forget your keys man! I’m out seeing my girlfriend tonight so I won’t be here when you get back.” Ricky threw them at his head.

Andrew searched round for that snapback but it wasn’t in its usual place. “Ricky, have you seen my snapback?”

“No! I haven’t seen it for several weeks!” He yelled from the other room.

Garrett came back, “you don’t need it. Georgie doesn’t wear it - neither should you!”

Andrew noticed there were crumbs round Garrett’s mouth from the cookies that had been scoffed. The redhead sighed and before he knew what was happening, his thumb had reached out to wipe away the mess. The way Garrett grinned at him as he performed this action made Andrew question for a brief moment whether they might kiss again. But that didn’t happen. When the work was done, Andrew removed his hand and they flew into the night together.

They were in the car now. Andrew kept his gaze on the road in front of them, only occasionally looking back to sneak a look at his best friend. Garrett wasn’t a very good driver and often remarked how he needed all of his concentration to be on the road in front of him or he would most certainly crash. His eyes narrowed, his knuckles gripped the steering wheel so hard that they were white, his tongue was marginally stuck out of his mouth and a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, Andrew had a strong urge to wipe it away but didn’t because he’d already done enough for that sort of thing for today. It had only now occurred to him that no one had said where exactly in Hollywood they were headed. He poorly picked his moment to ask just as Garrett was accelerating through an amber traffic light that was shifting red. His shattering of the silence was so unexpected that Garrett braked hard enough for Andrew to file a successful whiplash claim against him. They both took a moment to regain their composure.

“Can you repeat your question?” Garrett stated calmly, as if they hadn’t just come to an abrupt halt with a quickly forming line of LA traffic stuck behind him.

“Oh,” Andrew was taken aback, “I was just asking where we were going?”

“I know that Ryland and Drew and Shane are a restaurant now,” he stuttered while starting up the ignition again, “and so we’re gonna give them a fright.”


End file.
